Lee County completes acquisition of property near Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve in Cape Coral

FORT MYERS  – Lee County, through Conservation 20/20, has acquired about 194 acres in Cape Coral for $6.05 million. This Conservation 20/20 parcel is located north of the Four Mile Cove Ecological preserve along the Caloosahatchee River. The Board of County Commissioners approved the purchase contract for this parcel on Aug. 25, 2020.

The County's purchase results in the protection of about 560 acres of contiguous conservation land when combined with the state-owned 365 acres in the county’s largest city.

The property includes pine flatwoods, mangrove swamp, saltwater marshes, cabbage palm hammock, palmetto prairie, hardwood/conifer mixed, mixed wetland hardwoods and live oak. The river and creek habitats are home to species including bald eagle, manatee and smalltooth sawfish. Lee County also recently completed the acquisition of about 200 acres north of the existing Conservation 20/20 Galloway Tract of the Imperial Marsh Preserve in eastern Lee County for $1.3 million. The Conservation 20/20 portion of the Imperial Marsh Preserve contains over 1,052 acres of preserved land between State Road 82 and Corkscrew Road, southeast of Southwest Florida International Airport. The Greater Imperial Marsh Preserve is a 7,000-acre mitigation site purchased to help offset the development impacts from the airport. The Board of County Commissioners approved the purchase contract for this parcel on Aug. 4, 2020.

The Lee County Conservation 20/20 Program acquires land from willing sellers for resource-based recreational opportunities such as hiking, birdwatching, nature study, photography, and paddle craft launches. The program for environmentally sensitive land acquisition and management has preserved 30,633 acres since its inception. In addition to recreation, conservation lands help the county to protect drinking water, enhance water quality, protect areas from flooding and provide wildlife habitat. For more information